Tag Archives: vote

PJ Sharon here, with a slight departure from writing about…well…writing. I will return to regularly scheduled “writerly” postings next week.

It’s election Tuesday, and I’m proud to say, I voted! Many heartfelt thanks to the fabulous ladies in this picture (courtesy of Wikepedia) who are celebrating their right to vote, a fight that was finally won in 1919 after a centuries old battle.

When I was growing up during the seventies and eighties, my mother was very active in town politics. Even with seven children, she committed herself to making a difference and believed strongly in the power of women to sway the tide. She worked tirelessly on behalf of candidates she believed in and was instrumental in getting more than one State Representative elected with her grass roots efforts. Mom had the tenacity of a bulldog and the enthusiasm of a cheerleader. A well-loved and friendly woman, she had no trouble spreading the word by making phone calls and knocking on doors with her persuasive and sometimes vehement arguments on behalf of a particular candidate. I may not have thought so at the time, but today, I see my mom as the trailblazer and heroine that she was.

For the last five years or so of her life—which was taken all too soon at the age of fifty after a long battle with cancer—she worked as a bulletin clerk at the capitol in Hartford just so she could be close to the action and keep tabs on Connecticut’s political up-and -comers. I remember sitting around our kitchen table with my brothers and sisters stuffing envelopes and making signs. Being included in such important matters at an early age gave me a great appreciation for the political process, and I, like my mother, believe that women have a collective voice that has the power to change the world.

I consider it both a privilege and a responsibility to exercise the rights that so many before me fought to win. Women, especially, took up the cause for the right to have a voice in a world dominated by men who held the power to make decisions for them without any consideration for how women felt or what they wanted. In response, the Women’s suffrage movement spanned nearly a century, and spread across the globe in the 1800’s and into early nineteen hundreds with many ups and downs before “the vote” was finally won in the US in June of 1919.
Through perseverance and suffering, enduring prison and torture, these early American heroines laid down their lives so that today, I could have a voice. With all of the crazy statements and misstatements that have been made in this campaign regarding women’s issues, I am saddened to think that as much as times have changed, some things remain the same. Once again, the rights of women hang in the balance. I hope you will all take some time to look beyond the rhetoric and examine the issues, make an informed decision, and get out and vote today.

What is your earliest memory of politics? Did you learn about it at home or in school?

(NOTE: Specific political views or inflammatory comments are not appropriate in this venue and negative comments will be removed. The above opinions are mine alone, and not necessarily those of the Secrets of Seven Scribes as a whole. Please be considerate.)